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Arriving in the centre of Belval in Luxembourg, one can not help but stare upwards at the huge blast furnaces that dominate the skyline. Ultra-modern high-rises and new-builds butted up against these giants are dwarfed. Looking at the building site at the base, we glance at each other…. “We NEED to go up there!” we all agree.

We park up the car, check in at the Ibis, then head to some Buffalo place for a good helping of meat and a few beers whilst it got dark. Following a brief squabble over the size of the tip we head back outside and behold the monstrous marvels illuminated in the night sky and we headed straight for them!

The steel works has long closed, but the Belval Blast Furnaces have not only been retained, they have been fully restored, coated with pretty paint and made into a visitor attraction. The new buildings at the base, presumably a visitor centre, were nearing completion and the towers would soon be open to the public.

Belval Blast Furnaces – Climbing up the structure

We’re explorers. We were not prepared to wait for the towers to open, or to pay for a guided tour during the day! We venture into the building site to check out the bottom of the furnace towers and discover the only way up is through the buildings. Lucky for us then, they had managed to leave a door unlocked, so in we go and soon find our way to the roof where the 80 metre staircase begins. Being careful to stay out of the lights that illuminate the structure we make our way to the top.

This unplanned adventure with with Proj3ct M4yh3m and Kriegaffe9 turned out to be the highlight of the trip. The lights in the old industrial structure provided some fantastic shots and the view over the other blast furnace was amazing.

Belval Blast Furnaces – View over the other blast furnace

Belval Blast Furnaces – Wheels at the top

Belval Blast Furnaces – View from the top

Belval Blast Furnaces – View over the town

Belval Blast Furnaces – Pipes and wheels

Belval Blast Furnaces – Live steel works below

Belval Blast Furnaces – View over the live steel works behind the blast furnaces